How are your pickleball skills?

The first-ever Barrington Pickleball Tournament will be held on Saturday, July 23 at the Barrington Middle School courts. The age divisions are 18-to-49, and 50-and-older in men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. The tournament will be organized as a round robin competition, so each team will play multiple times. 

“Those in town have probably noticed the enthusiastic groups of pickleballers that play year round at the middle school, Chianese Park and the Kent Street tennis courts,” wrote tournament director Mark Ehrlich. “The game of pickleball started in the 1960s, but it has been over the past 5-10 years that interest in the game has exploded throughout the country. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, over 4.8 million people throughout the country are now playing the sport. That is double the number from just five years ago, and pickleball has been called the fastest growing sport in the country.”

Elrich said there are still some openings in each division for the Barrington tournament. 

Also, the winners of each division in the Barrington Pickleball Tournament will qualify to compete in the state pickleball tournament, which will be held at the South Kingstown Recreation Center, Aug. 26-28. 

Registration is $50 per team for the Barrington tournament, and that includes the entry fee for the state tournament, for whichever teams qualify. The money raised will support local tournament hosts and will also go towards grant money which parks and recreation departments may apply for to help cover the cost of facilities, equipment, instructors, etc.

For the Barrington tournament, at least one player must be a town resident. The partner must be a resident of Rhode Island and from a town that is not holding a local qualifying tournament. 

To sign up for the Barrington tournament, visit rirpa.myrec.com and click "register for Pickleball Tournament" then choose Barrington from the dropdown menu. You must first register on the site so that you can sign up and pay the tournament fee.

The tournament starts at 9 a.m. on July 23. The rain date is Sunday, July 24.